The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. The population
of interest consists of the students of two universities in
Khuzestan Province in Southwest Iran. This specific group was
selected because, compared to the general population in Iran, its
members are more likely to experience and be familiar with
organic foods and are also more likely to be aware of the existence
of pesticides in conventional agricultural foods and their health
effects. They are also likely to be more knowledgeable about this issue through their education, surfing the internet, and learning
from their educators and peers.
The study sample consisted of 389 students selected through a
multistage cluster random sampling from two universities: Khuzestan
Ramin Agriculture and Natural Resources University (n = 200)
and Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Science (n = 189).1
First, colleges at each university (R and J University) were identified
and randomly placed into one of two groups. Next, in each selected
college, a number of majors (disciplines) were again randomly
selected. Then, a proportional sample of student(s) was randomly
selected from each discipline. It is important to note that we intentionally
chose the Agriculture and Natural Resources and Medical
Science universities, as both of them are concerned with healthy
food production. Agricultural students are also concerned with the
environment. Hence this is the reason for including these two groups
within our study framework.
The data were based on a face-to-face survey of students in fall
2012. Response time for the questionnaire was about 20–25 min.
The responses were returned to the researchers directly after completion
without any intermediaries being involved. All questionnaires
were checked to make sure that responses were complete.
All students were given the right to refuse to participate and to
refuse to answer any question they deemed to be too sensitive or
that they felt uncomfortable about. No payment was made to the
students. Those declining to participate were replaced by other
students. Most of the data were collected from the students either
during class hours in the universities or at different places on
campus.